SEPTA's Elec Motive Power

Besides what Septa is currently running, did SEPTA have any other Electric Motive Power?

Septa "inherited" the ex-Reading 1931 electric MU's, many of which ran until 1986. Several of these cars had been refurbished by the Reading in the early 70's and were repainted into Reading blue and white, hence their nickname as Blueliners. These cars ran all over the Septa system, especially after the opening of the CC commuter tunnel. Septa also used ex-PRR MP54's but they were pretty much restricted to the ex-Pennsy side and were all retired by the time the tunnel opened. The only other cars that Septa used and which are no longer running were the Budd Pioneer III stainless steel MU's, also referred to as Silverliner I cars. These were first generation Budd cars which were actually considered to be experimental vehicles and were incompatible with the later SL II, III and IV equipment. All of these cars were also retired in the mid-80's, two of them survive today at the RR Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg.

I'd like to add to glennk419's excellent post above. SEPTA never received any of the famous ex-PRR/PC GG-1 electric locomotives. All of those went to either Amtrak or Conrail ownership.

Here are some oddball situations which provided variety "back in the day":

The ex-RDG FP7A passenger diesels went to SEPTA ownership, being the only pure passenger engines they owned until the AEM-7 electrics arrived in 1987 and 1988. These were routinely operated push-pull style (one engine on each end) on a morning Reading-Philly trip, and an evening Philly-Reading return. They could also be seen much less frequently on a mid-morning roundtrip between Philly and Bethlehem. During times of inspection or repair, an FP7A would be removed from one end of the train and temporarily replaced with a Conrail freight diesel.

On occasion during the 1970s, there were labor strikes on SEPTA's City Transit Division, or electric power failures crippling the ex-Reading half of the commuter rail system. In the former case, Conrail GG-1s sometimes pulled extra trains of older, non-overhauled ex-Pennsy MP54 commuter cars. Those were typically additional runs to Trenton and Paoli. Sometimes the FP7A-powered push-pull train would be used on the ex-RDG side to provide extra schedule frequency for Bethlehem Branch stations close to Philadelphia.

In the latter case, Conrail diesels (many of which still sported their Reading paint scheme!) pulled trains of crippled Blueliner MU coaches until power could be restored to full capacity. Catenary power was so limited that the MUs could obtain power for internal lighting and HVAC, but nothing for traction motors. GP-35s and even U25Bs were used for such duties.

What was the reading designation for the Blueliners?

glennk419 wrote:Septa "inherited" the ex-Reading 1931 electric MU's, many of which ran until 1986. Several of these cars had been refurbished by the Reading in the early 70's and were repainted into Reading blue and white, hence their nickname as Blueliners. These cars ran all over the Septa system, especially after the opening of the CC commuter tunnel. Septa also used ex-PRR MP54's but they were pretty much restricted to the ex-Pennsy side and were all retired by the time the tunnel opened. The only other cars that Septa used and which are no longer running were the Budd Pioneer III stainless steel MU's, also referred to as Silverliner I cars. These were first generation Budd cars which were actually considered to be experimental vehicles and were incompatible with the later SL II, III and IV equipment. All of these cars were also retired in the mid-80's, two of them survive today at the RR Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg.

Correction: Both the Reading Blueliners and the Silverliner I's (Pioneer III's) operated in regular service until 1990.

The farewell trip for the Blues was in April of that year, with the final regular Blueliner run bowing out on an unscheduled trip to Chestnut Hill East (as protect train for an Amtrak-delayed train from Trenton) later that month.

Then, in June of that year, I rode the farewell trip on the Pioneers. I also rode the final inbound regular run of that set from Lansdale to Center City (they spent their last weeks working a Doylestown express round trip) later that month.